Members of the public are invited to share with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) their thoughts on how the Basin and Range National Monument should be managed by completing and submitting an “envisioning” questionnaire, available online at http://on.doi.gov/1RI5Ygk.
“We’re asking people to share with us those areas they find special and what needs to be done to keep them intact. We’d also like to know if there are areas that need improvement,” Monument Manager Alicia Styles said.
Envisioning is a preliminary step in the planning process that helps to ascertain resource values for the planning area. The proclamation designating the Monument, signed July 10, 2015, directs BLM to complete the land-use planning process within three years of the designation.
The 704,000-acre planning area is currently managed in accordance with the Ely Resource Management Plan (RMP), as amended by the Greater Sage-Grouse Approved RMP Amendment. A new, stand-alone RMP will provide comprehensive, long-range land-use decisions for the Monument.
As the proclamation indicates, the President established the Monument to “preserve its cultural, prehistoric, and historic legacy and maintain its diverse array of natural and scientific resources, ensuring that the prehistoric, historic and scientific values of this area remain for the benefit of all Americans.” The proclamation identifies objects and values of substantial cultural and ecological importance, describing them as an “unbroken expanse [that] is an invaluable treasure for our Nation and will continue to serve as an irreplaceable resource for archaeologists, historians and ecologists for generations to come.”
Respondents may submit completed questionnaires to the BLM Ely District Office, 702 North Industrial Way, Ely, NV 89301 or the BLM Caliente Field Office, PO Box 237, Caliente, NV 89008. The questionnaire may be submitted electronically at blm_nv_basin_range@blm.gov.
For more information about the Basin and Range National Monument go to http://on.doi.gov/1LT79wP or call the Caliente Field Office at (775) 726-8100.
